surprisingly both sides claimed victory. mitt romney's campaign said biden seemed off balance and strange. the president's team said the debate exposed the risk of electing a romney/ryan ticket. the candidatesalso disagreed over foreign policy. congressman ryan pointing to the death of four americans in libya as an indication of weakness abroad while biden said romney's campaign talks first before they know what the facts are. reporting live in danville, i'm randall pinkston. >>> that cbs news poll found the overall impressions of both vice presidential candidate improved after the debate. 55% think biden is somebody they can relate to. 48% think ryan is. both candidates on how uncommitted voters feel about them as being effective president. we break down last night's face off. >> reporter: joe biden came out very aggressive in this debate and maintained that tone throughout. to republicans he was rude. they were using the word unhinged, complaining about his smirking. for democrats it's exactly what they wanted to see. a week ago president obama was very passive in his debate aga

compared with 49% for ryan. not surprisingly, both sides claimed victory. mitt romney's campaign said biden seemed off balance and strange. the president's team said the debate exposed the risks of electing a romney/ryan ticket. the next presidential debate is tuesday. >>> while democrats are pleased with vice president biden's performance it's unclear whether his aggressive style was offensive or convincing to the independents who will hold the margin of victory in the presidential election. >> randall, let's talk more. it was obviously interesting to watch. what were the strong and weak points of the candidates? >> reporter: well, certainly vice president biden had to make sure that everyone knew that democrats would fight. i mean, remember that president obama himself said that he was too polite. no one could say that about biden as last night's showdown. ryan had to make sure he didn't lose any ground. this is his first venue for a national audience sitting opposite one of the most powerful democrats in the nation. and he held his own even as mitt romney is beginning to show some

with 49% for ryan. not surprisingly, both sides claimed victory. mitt romney's campaign said biden seemed off balance and strange. the president's team said the debate exposed the risks of electing a romney/ryan ticket. the next presidential debate is tuesday. randall pinkston, cbs news, danville, kentucky. and we can expect those poll results to change in the coming days as the samples are increased and the polling organizations dig deeper on the impact of these first and only vice-presidential debates. reporting live in danville, kentucky, i'm randall pinkston, back to you. >> randall, it's certainly interesting to watch a lot more sparks in this debate than the presidential debate. what were considered the strong and weak points of the candidate? >> well, after president obama's performance last week democrats have to show they are willing to fight and also defend the president's record. biden certainly did that. for mitt ryan, he had to stand up there with one of the most famous most powerful democrats in the nation his first time out on that kind of stage and he held his own s

, who do you trust when the hard math is being done. both the president and mitt romney have said we've got to schinch this budget in a time of scarcity. who is going to do that? who is going to be in charge of that when the hard cutting has it to get done? >> pelley: we have nancy cordes and jan crawford covering the romney and obama campaigns. and they're joining us now from kentucky. nancy, let me go to you first. what's your observation there? >> reporter: well, scott, whether vice president widen's antics were over the top or just right depends who you talk to. democrats contend they are thrilled. they say he had all the energy that president obama was missing last week. republicans i'm talking to here in this spin room contend he was unhinged. i just heard senator ron johnson of wisconsin describe him as incredibly rude. but there is no question that in that exchange that you just played and others, congressman ryan may have started out making good points, but he often didn't get to the end of them because vice president biden interrupted him. >> pelley: jan crawford is covering t

both candidates tonight. vice-presidential joe biden and paul ryan. ryan will be trying to keep the momentum going for mitt romney. >> reporter: congressman paul ryan arrived at kentucky ahead of his first nationally televised debate. the number 2 man on the gop ticket told reporters earlier in florida, voters will see a clear choice when he faces off against vice president joe biden. >> joe biden has been on this stage before. he has been on these big stages. it's my first time. but what he can't run from is president obama's indefensible ortho. they are just offering more of the same. >> reporter: ryan will face an opponent who occasionally causes controversy with freewheeling statements but republicans also know vice president biden is a seasoned debater. >> nothing like standing up before 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 million people. >> reporter: usually vice- presidential debates don't greatly impact elections but after the president's lackluster performance at the first debate with mitt romney, many believe democrats desperately need the vice president to deliver tonight. >> what it

the plans presented by the romney-ryan ticket. >> to your question, though, ca carl, i think both parties accomplished what they wanted to but because of the way the vice president conducted himself throughout most of this debate, he hurt himself with independen independents. watching the dow groups online. the siing- >> laughing. >> they're calling is the al gore sii i sighing online. [ all talking at the same time ]. >> take a listen to what we heard. >> you have a few things to say here? >> a lot of duress to make up for lost ground. but i think people would be better served than try to scare people for voting for you. all i have to point to are the results. we're going in the wrong direction. he evacuated for constituents applying for grants. that's what we do. we do that for all c constitutents. >> i love that. >> the idea came from -- >> do you have the specifics? >> jared, you said we are not theater critics, you're right, we're more concerned what's happening here but this is the issue. >> there's a lot of substance, we're not theater critics reviewing a show at the movies

surprisingly, both sides claimed victory. mitt romney's campaign said biden seemed off balanced and strange. the president's team said the debate exposed the risks of electing a romney-ryan ticket. the next presidential debate is tuesday. randall pinkston, cbs news, danville, kentucky. >> if you plan in voting in maryland, d.c. or virginia in the upcoming november election and you haven't registered to vote, you only have a few days left. in virginia you have till monday. maryland tuesday is the last day to register. d.c. it's friday, october 19 and you have to do it in person in d.c. for more on voter registration, go to wusa9.com and look under campaign 2012. >>> another d.c. lawmaker is being accused of ethics violations. it's all related to a bad real estate deal. the washington metropolitan area authority said jim graham allegedly said he would support a project if the developer agreed to pull out of a metro development project on 7th and florida avenue. graham was a sitting board member at the time. the allegations come after a four-month long independent investigation. >> regardless

million new jobs. i'm mitt romney, and i approve this message. [ female announcer ] he says... president obama and i both care about poor and middle-class families. [ female announcer ] but this is what the budget plan mitt romney supports actually does. more huge tax breaks skewed to the wealthy. while cutting nearly eight hundred billion from medicaid... even though middle-class families rely on medicaid to help loved ones cover nursing-home care. and it helps parents support children with disabilities. if mitt romney really "cares," wouldn't we see it in his priorities? . >>> it's been a turbulent few weeks for american airlines, thanks to flight cancellations and delays. and today, the all eyed pilot's association is -- and represents 10,000 pilots. they expect a fair contract. >> we took big cuts back in 9/11 to prevent the company from going into bankruptcy and piloting gave them 8$00 million in concessions. over the last deck seed, they took bonuses every year, hundreds of millions in bonuses. basically what we gave them and allowed the airline to deteriorate. >> amer

only rise on the next debate. both governor romney and president obama are doing a lot of preparation for the face off next week. >>shepard: any concern they will take off the spot line in danville? >>reporter: for all the attention that joe biden will come out swinging and paul ryan, the intellectual voice of the republican party and the face of the g.o.p. for the last couple of years, it is difficult in the format to do that. they could be, the candidates will not upstage the vice presidential candidates and they will be seated together at a table. you look at history of debates with the candidate seated next to one another, it is never as feisty. that works for paul ryan who is a real poll work and it works for joe biden because he has much more seniority and experience in the senate as the chairman of the foreign affairs committee and the vice president, who has been dealing with all kinds of major issues the last 3 1/2 years. >>shepard: thank you, carl cameron. the republican congressman is with us from illinois and the democratic congressman from california is with us, as well.

the who is and said look, we didn't go after governor romney as much and so you have got to turn up the heat. >> i think both men will be very prepared. >> biden says he's ready. >> all debates are tough. but i'm looking forward to it. i really am. >> foreign and domestic policy issues will be in play thursday night. it's the only vice-presidential debate before the november 6 election. i'm christina mugler reporting. >> this thursday's vice-presidential debate may actually end up being the most watched v.p. showdown to date. >> that's due in large part to presidential debate that still has many people talking and we're joined by political deputy white house edward isaac dovar. thank you for being with us. how damaging was president obama's performance during the debate on wednesday is this >> a lot of people have been very concerned about it on the democratic side. and very excited about it on the republican side. because it really did change the tone of where things were for the past few weeks. the president was moving up in just about every estimation. and he had a real lackluste

, everything the obama romney matchup wasn't. it was fiery, animated and a good old fashioned political brawl. we have team coverage for you tonight. steve handlesman shows us the best of the debates. some fans tried to juggle both of those events. >> we did a pretty good job with election day less than one month away. some a's fans made watching that debate a priority. tuning in to that spirited exchange while monitoring the score. a's fans cheered on the big game. fans could also tune in to the vice presidential debate. >> it's cool, i can't hear it, though. >> my eyes are going back and forth. so many tv's here. >> he plans to watch joe biden and paul ryan later. >> over at the white hills in oakland, the family is watching baseball and politics. >> we wanted to watch both the debate and the ball game, we love the a's, and it's so season to be in the postseason, the debate is also important. >> diego provided a's highlights he caught on the phone. >> i was on the phone while they were watching the debate. >> the baseball game turned out to be a disappointment, but the debate was full

news, both presidential candidates are back on the campaign trail after their running mates went head to head in their only debate. mitt romney is campaigning in virginia. weiss given paul ryan a great review. ryan took time out today to have breakfast with his family in kentucky. he and governor romney will campaign together in ohio tonight. >>> well, some recally right after the debate showed people who are split over who they think came on top. a cnn survey found paul right the winner. 48% to -- ryan the winner. 48% to 45%. a cbs poll found that both candidates made solid impressions but most of those thought the debate was a win for vice president biden. the third survey thought boyden one 50% and -- biden one, 50% and then 31. sandra endo is live in kentucky with more. >> reporter: the day after pundits are debating the debate. >> joe biden is passionate about these issues. he also pointed out how bad this plan of theirs would be for the democrats. >> reporter: joe biden and paul ryan presented starkly divisions for the country. >> 23 million americans are struggling for work tod

issues but these are smart, well-informed politicians. paul ryan and joe biden both had reason to feel good about how that came across here last night. a long-time democratic insider versus a republican young gun whose ticket has new momentum. mitt romney was watching. barack obama too. moderator martha raddatz of abc. they tangled on iran. >> we're moving faster toward a nuclear weapon. it's because this administration has no credibility on this issue. >> we will not allow the iranians to get a nlear weapon. you're going to go to war, is that what you want to do? >> we want to prevent war. >> reporter: on the middle class what about mitt romney saying 47% of americans feel entitled to government benefits? >> i think the vice president very well knows that sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way. >> but i always say what i mean. >> reporter: what about the obama stimulus, the recovery? >> job growth in september was slower than it was in august and august was slower than it was in july. we're heading in the wrong direction. >> 5.2 million new jobs -- private

-- i think you can do both. i think romney is doing both and romney -- watching him right now is watching him go through the different phases of romney, 509s shades of romney shall we say. >> that's exactly what they have thought. so people have talked about this a lot. the notion of they were kind of a fork in the road in the spring. do we want to run against him as a flip flopping phony or run against -- coreless, their pitch before, or do we want to cast him as a right wing radical. they seemed to and did make a decision to do right wing radical and one on throughout. i talked about david plouffe about this in may and he said we're going do both when we have to. we're going to say mitt romney there he goes trying to flip flop, coreless a phony, but not forget where he actually is, and then this is -- we're going to keep trying to pin him back to these positions he's taken. i think they have been horrible since the debate, the obama campaign. they are -- jon ward understates the degree to which they are knocked off guard and they are flailing right now and the stuff they're say

was spot on -- setting the expectations so high and really came through. talking to partisans on both sides, the job for the vice president tonight is to slow the momentum of governor romney. and ryan at this point, to try to change the dynamic once again, this is going to be a proxy fight, but you know what? paul ryan has a record, as well, and that is something that joe biden wants to exploit here. he will talk about the president and the 47% and talk about ryan as the idea of a lot of conservative thinking, the taxes, and spending. >> all right, david gregory, all part of the team for tonight's coverage of the vice presidential debate beginning tonight, 9 eastern, 6:00 on the west coast here on this nbc station. >>> we turn now to another major story out there today, the meningitis outbreak linked to tainted steroid shots for back pain. the numbers keep climbing. according to the cdc's number today, 14 people now have died. 170 patients are sick, and now there are even more questions about the specialty pharmacy, the compounding pharmacy is that is the source of the bad medicine. o

. this is a reference to the poll that suggest mitt romney moved up both nationally and in some key battle ground states, including some polls that show he's winning in the buckeye state. ohio for mr. romney is a must win. no republicans ever got into the white house without winning here first. the romney campaign says they're very happy with the condition of the fundamentals. they think they've dramatically shifted and the next 27 days are headed in their direction, bill. >> bill: thank you. carl cameron in ohio. thank you. >>> we're getting a new look at the stage for tomorrow night's vice presidential showdown. this is in danville, ken, southwest of lexington. you can see the debate live here on fox news channel. our coverage starts tomorrow night, just a tick before 9:00 o'clock eastern time and shep will be there, too. anchor studio b in the afternoon and the fox report live in danville, kentucky and then on your local fox station. check your local listings for that. >>> the defense secretary, leon panetta, confirming that the united states has deployed american troops to help

ohio. president obama and governor mitt romney are both in that crucial swing state tonight. four weeks to the day before the election, and some analysts are pointing out there is a change in the polls. today yet another round of opinion polls showing governor romney pulling ahead of the president after that big debate. the governor now has a two-point lead in the latest gallup poll of likely voters. before the debate, the president was up by five points in the same poll. the obama camp down playing the numbers. one campaign spokesman says he expected this to happen. a live look now in ohio where governor romney is getting ready for a rally. 18 electoral votes up for grabs four weeks from tonight. as i reported, no republican has won the white house without first winning ohio. the governor started his day in another battle ground state, iowa. he responded to one of the president's latest attack lines over the governor's pledge to cut funding for pbs. home of big bird. >> these are tough times with real serious issues. so you have to scratch your head when the president spends the

. both president obama and romney were on the stump yesterday in ohio where they bemoaned the president's lack of leadership. >> time and time again the president told us he'd take on these things and hasn't. he turns around and tries to blame others. congress won't get together. congress won't get together unless there is a strong lead they're puts them together. >> at the tail end of his meeting with the reverend billy graham, the reverend said to mitt romney i will do anything i can to help you, and that's on the record, though it was not on camera. romney and ryan reunite tomorrow in ohio. president is at the white house. mr. ryan in preparation for tonight's debate had nine debate rehearsals and they think he is ready to go against biden this evening. bret? >> bret: carl cameron in spin room. see you there in a few minutes. thank you, carl. how will tonight's debate impact the race? let me know on twitter. follow me. @bretbaier. new issues for two of the president green energy pet projects. i.r.s. is proposing a bankruptcy settlement for solyndra saying it's a dodge to av

implemented a managed bankruptcy of the automakers. >> they both had the same concept. mitt romney and president obama had the same concept of a managed bankruptcy. >> different concepts. mitt romney didn't want a bunch of government money and taxpayer money going in and guaranteeing these automaker, but when you hear the words let it go bankrupt he wanted it outf business. he said he did not want them and he did not want the taxpayer involved the way they were. we decided this is misleading, the statement. the op ed was titled let detroit go bankrupt by "the new york times," romney wanted a managed bankruptcy overall and ultimately there was a managed bankruptcy. look, there are different views on how to fix the auto industry, but mitt romney did want to fix the auto industry. >> both of the sides had views about a managed bankruptcy, but don't believe the had headline that was attributed to mitt romney. >> it ultimately worked, by the way. >> you can make a fair argument, without question. >> get some sleep tonight. for those of you who missed it and you did get your sleep last night

tight, both president obama and mitt romney, watched closely. >> i thought joe biden was terrific tonight. i could not be prouder of him. >> reporter: and in the end, their running mates even shared a few laughs. >> i think the vice president very well knows that sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way. >> i always say what i mean. >> reporter: that got a lot of laughs last night. now, the next big debate is next tuesday. that's when we see president obama and mitt romney faceoff for round two in new york. reporting live in danville, kentucky, brandi hitt. rob and paula, back to you. >> look forward to round two. abc's brandi hitt reporting this morning from danville, kentucky. thanks, brandi. >>> and president obama, as you heard, gave vice president biden's performance a thumbs-up last night. he watched the debate aboard air force one, returning from one of his last fund-raising events before the election. the president chided mr. romney for calling himself, quote, severely conservative, and now, trying to reinvent himself as a moderate. >>> and during a c

leading by one point. the fight for florida is a statistical dead heat. and romney has narrowed the gap this ohio, although the buckeye state, what every republican needs to win the white house, is still solidly in obama's corner. >> this is the conversation we were having before both conventions. so almost as everything has been erased. >> i think it accounts for the hemorrhaging that they let romney back in. >> joining me now is ed schultz host of the ed show. and let's start with this. congressman ryan as well as the chairman both trying to set the stage for tonight. let's listen. >> joe biden's been on will stage many times before. this is my first time. so, sure, it's a nervous situation. because joe biden is one of the most experienced debaters we have in modern politics. >> this is miss firhis first ti. joe biden's been doing this since the 1800s. he'll do a solid job. >> so when you listen to this, the base was pretty upset last night. you were quite passionate after the debate. will biden bring the old meat ax tonight? >> i don't think vice president biden will win or lose the

compared with 4 -9d -- with 49% for ryan. not surprisingly both sides claimed victory. mitt romney's campaign said biden seemed off balance and strange. the president's team said the debate exposed the risks of electing a romney-ryan ticket. the next presidential debate is tuesday. randall pinkston, cbs news, danville, kentucky. >>> ray locker is washington enterprise editor at "u.s.a. today." channel 9's sister publications. ray, you're part of the fact checking team we heard in randall's package there, the vice president saying not a single thing that congressman ryan said was accurate. he was talking about one thing. but were there egregious claims made by either candidate last night? >> i wouldn't necessarily say egregious. i would say obviously both candidates made some factual errors when talking about, say, the number of people who might lose health insurance under obama care. congressman ryan said 20 million. it's a high end estimate. i don't think anybody really thinks that's going to happen. vice president biden mentioned some things about what the cost of the ryan medicare

, compared to 62% of democrats who say the same about joe biden. ryan has to defend both his record and mitt romney's, and in some cases, those two tasks midi verge. the bottom line for ryan, he has to prove he's ready to be president. that is tonight's most important test, and one that i think a lot of people miss when it comes to what a vp debate means. ryan's readiness, of course, on foreign policy, that's going to come up as well. tonight's 90-minute debate is divided between domestic and foreign policy, and moderator martha raddatz says she will alternate between the two in nine ten-minute segments. each segment will have a response followed by untimed discussion. libya will indeed come up tonight. speaking of libya, that was the subject of a heated congressional hearing yesterday that was one part spectacle and one part substance. the bottom line, no part of the hearing was good for the white house. two former security officers from the libyan mission testified that their requests for help were either turned down or ignored. >> i asked for 12 agents. his response to that was you're ask

he made a strong case. >> today the campaigning continues. biden is in wisconsin and mitt romney is virginia before heading to ohio to meet up with paul ryan. let's get the reactions from both sides. cheering vice president biden, the happy warrior after his aggressive performance one that republicans are describing as condescending and disrespectful. look how the new york post put it. the contrast wasn't just between biden and ryan but between biden and president obama. the cover, vote for joe, vp shows obama how to debate. inside, smirky biden upstages his boss. with me, former ohio governor and former democratic ted strickland. did he show up the boss? >> no, but he showed up paul ryan and that's what i think is was important. he showed a lot of heart. joe biden in my judgment is not only a good public servant and good political leader but he's a good human being. he cares deeply about this country and the people who have been left behind, the struggling middle class. that came across last night. >> i had a democratic say to me if you want the passion, you're going to get stuff t

thursday night against vice president biden. both sides have played the lower expectations game. the romney/ryan team has said for weeks joe biden is one of the best debaters in washington, 40 years on the hill. obviously, he knows key policy issues like the judiciary and foreign relations with his time in the senate. he's been preparing paul ryan with former u.s. solicitor-general ted olson. they're going through a mock debate session and policy briefings. tomorrow he goes up to danville, kentucky. he has been ready for this and trying to remain relaxed over the past few days. took his kids out to a pumpkin patch and some reporters asked about the debate. oh, yeah, i should get ready for that. tamron. >> thank you very much, ron. for more on how the vice president is preparing, jokes and all for thus's debate, we go to the news campaign. what kind of scoop have you got for us other than maybe a joke pretending you forget the debate in two days. >> the vice president is in wilmington, delaware at his home. he's taking six full days off the campaign trail here to get ready. he's working with

circumstance. if all of a sudden both candidates commit to it or if the romney campaign forces obama top defend his turf in pennsylvania, i'll start to feel that way. right now, i don't see it. >> let me play sound, keith, from mark halpern. he was just on with andrea mitchell. here's the intel that he was able to acquire. we're talking with team obama in chicago. let's play it. >> they feel just as good about where they are today as they did two weeks ago. they said clearly public polling shows change, they don't see any fundamental change in the race whatsoever. >> is that wishful thinking or accurate read? obviously, andrew sullivan is an obama supporter but he's a conservative. he's trying to look for a silver lining, and he feels that it's been disastrous. that's one person's opinion. what's yours? >> i was at the jets game last name -- >> boo. you should only go to cowboys games. what's wrong with snu. >> people booed mark sanchez in the first quarter of the game. >> wonder why? >> this is a team that has a losing season. the contrast is with barack obama he's on a winning team. th

they can get four seats, if romney wins the white house that number drops to three. welcome both. i'm guessing this is the only time you put on suits now. does the winner of the presidential decide control of the state senate? there's no question that it impacts races. we have said from the beginning that we think senate races can stand on their own. >> if mitt romney wins the presidency, what chances do democrats have of retaining control of the united states? >> when you look at the battleground states that you listinged. after of those states are republican held seats. >> can you gain control if president obama wins re-election? >> sure, chuck and here's why, we're win right now in connecticut, we're winning in wisconsin. we got a little separation last week or so. governor romney's strong performance, really the resurgence for the party so we feel like we have a great path to the majority with or without governor romney winning. >> let me start with a virginia. can george allen win without mitt romney carrying the state? >> obviously it would be easier if romney won the state. the

both candidates. here is what your advice for the vice president was. you said attack romney's plans with veracity, defend the obama record and pivot to the future and contrast the roads that lie ahead. what does biden need to do to offset the recent pihiccups? >> i think he has a great opportunity to be the circuit breaker. the president's performance was disappointing last week. the job numbers were good. but now he can break the circuit and re-energize the democratic base. i meant to say attack romney's plans and veracity because one of the topics will be whether or not governor romney last week told the truth to the american people. i think the vice president's in a great position to point out how little truth governor romney told. >> and when we look at social media, those doing the fact checking say president obama actually won because that's their perception based on the drought come of some of the fact checks out there. perry, a big criticism after the last debate was that the president did not fact check romney effectively on the stage itself specifically. now, this ti

to see both of them try to take those elements of the campaign. >> here is my key thing on romney r50i9 now. remember last month when governor romney was on "60 minutes" he said if you have a heart attack in your apartment, his phrase, the government provides health care by putting you in an ambulance and taking you to the er to get treated. well, now he's saying people don't die because they lack insurance. he told the columbus dispatch editorial board, quote, we don't have a setting across this doesn't where if you don't have issues he say, tough luck, you're going to die when you have your heart attack. no, you go to the hospital, you get treated, you get care, and it's paid for, either by charity, the government or by the hospital. we don't have people that become ill, who die in their apartment because they don't have insurance. you go to the er. is that the republican health care plan? >> no, chris. >> michael steele. >> chris, why do you even bother to go there. he's giving an example that we are a caring people, that we do not leave people on the street to die. >> is that

romney/ryan plan in terms that people can understand, as both practical and empathetic, but i also think ryan can and should attack biden and say where were you in trying to propose some solution to the fiscal cliff? why didn't we go forward with a plan to reduce the deficit. these guys have been in charge for four years and they don't have a lot to show for it. >> steven, that sounds like an invitation to get lost in the weeds to become the policy wonk that we know both of these two gentlemen are, and let's be honest this is about trying to convince a married woman somewhere in ohio to go republican or democrat versus the other way. how is that going to play? how are details going to play at all tonight? >> i think it's important to have details, just as we saw in the last debate. i think while you could easily get lost in the weeds, i think people came away with an impression as to what each side stood for. i would just say with respect to carly's comments it's not true that obama and biden do not have a budget. they have one. it's called the fiscal year 13 budget they put out that goe

obama campaign's own estimation. mitt romney called paul ryan today as well, wished him luck. both sides gearing up for this. you mentioned that achille's foot. some analysts say in this kind of format, the vice president won't slip up. >> in debates, particularly against sarah palin four years ago, he was pretty disciplined. i think republicans would be unwise to count on a biden gaffe occurring during this debate. >> senior democrat told me a short time ago where the vice president does get in trouble is not in this format, but a tv interview and he starts winding around and telling a long story and goes off message. another thing to watch tonight is that this is not just domestic policy like the first debate. it's foreign policy as well. that terrorist attack in libya could come up tonight for the first time in one of these debates. >> shep: yeah, i would be surprised if it didn't. what's the obama campaign telling you about the strategy and taking on congressman ryan? >> they're saying to me in private that he's not really just taking on congressman ryan. the plan, the strategy

. >> thanks for your call. both campaigns this year are very active on social media. the romney campaign sent out this picture just before we began. it is of the gop candidate call- in his vice presidential nominee to wish him good luck in the debate tonight. next up is a telephone call from barbara in north carolina, an independent. go ahead, please. >> i think the vice president is very important. like the caller just said, we need to know how will the country be run if anything was to happen to the president. i think joe biden and barack obama have done an outstanding job. i already know who i am going to vote for. >> what issue is most important to you this year in the election? >> health care. mitt romney and paul ryan want to take everything from us, and i don't think that is bare. -- out of think that is fair. >> speaking of politics, let's go to the other side of the aisle and introduce you to the colleget of cedntre democrats. he is a history major and government maj. we like those kind of majors at c-span here, mr. miller. thanks for being with us. >> thank you for asking me to be o

specific question about the specifics that you heard at the last deba debate. does governor romney specifically embrace simpson-bowles or does he not? he gave us both answers in the last debate. what is your understanding of the governor's approach, he's a presidential candidate, to simpson-bowles? yes or no. >> the governor's approach to simpson-bowles it's a step in the right direction, right. >> but he has his own plan and his own plan would, you know, does not involve some of the components of simpson bowls. as it relates to that, you know, on that issue, he's been pretty clear. he's got his own plan -- >> he hasn't been clear. >> okay. time-out. mitt romney did one thing that everybody acknowledges, even though in his own party, which is pivot further towards the center. paul ryan's budget has been declared by some folks, some analysts, including those in the republican party, to be a fairly strong document win that takes specific stances on the american social compact. do you think paul ryan will be defending mitt romney's moderate position tonight or mitt romney's previously

is very consistent. >> ana, you heard from both of them. romney has moved to the center, appears to have moved from the center. could it backfire both with his base and perhaps undecideds who don't think he holds sincere beliefs? and even with women, aafter hearing that comment from the des moines register and then saying something that appears to be different. could that change that? >> don, you know i haven't been mitt romney's biggest defender or biggest fan but i don't really see a great inconsistency in what he said and what he has said. he said he won't be pursuing legislation. i'm glad to hear that. frank frankly the difference between taking executive action or pursuing legislation is a big one. it takes a lot of political capital to get legislation through. i don't think you will get any sort of abortion rights or abortionless legislation through a democrat senate or very close held senate. >> can you more be more specific about why you think that it's not a flip flop? why don't you think this is a big deal? >> because i -- you know, he's saying he's not going to pursue leg

debate? both are weighing in. >> well, governor romney i had a good night. i had a bad night. >> how bad? >> well, it is not the first time i've had a bad night. >> well, obviously the president wasn't happy with the response to our debate last night. >> what's your message to joe biden about tomorrow night? >> well i, you know, i think joe just needs to be joe. jon: joining us now is karl rove, former senior advisor and deputy chief of staff to president george w. bush and a fox news contributor. i want to get your take on that advice from the president. he said let joe be joe. isn't that kind of dangerous? >> depends who shows up. is it the gaffe meister who says he will put you all back in chains or the guy showed up at the debate in 2008 against sarah palin and did a very good job. jon: democrats say you will not see the un, the unchained, the loose cannon joe biden tonight. that he will be very much on message. do you expect that? >> i expect that. he has more experience in presidential debates than anybody else running this year. he run for president himself. he has been vice p